Deadrise/Issue 10
This is the fourth issue of Volume Two: Doomed To Fall. ---- "He... what?" Rob could not grasp the situation. "He got bit by a zombie when we escaped. I didn't think it got him but... well..." Michelle said, saddened. "What do we do about it?" Corey asked. "We could cut off his arm." Randy suggested. "What?! No that's crazy." Rob responded. "I'm for real. Remember, we did it on Andy and it worked. Well, before the dead finally got 'im. But still, we cut it off, it prevents the infection from spreadin'." "No, it's been too long since the bite. It has already spread," Faith intervened. "Besides, it would be too hard to treat, especially right now on the road." "Then... what else is there?" Rob asked in desperation. "We have to kill him." Floyd concluded. "...Are you sure?" Corey asked Floyd. "There's no other way. It's sad, but true. I refuse letting him turn and suffer, so a shot in the head is the quickest and least painful way." Floyd explained. "When do we do it then?" Rob asked. Floyd looked to Jake. "He's not at his worst yet. We can have some time to say goodbye. When it starts looking bad, we put him out of his misery. Any oppositions?" Floyd asked, looking at the rest of the group. All with a sad or serious expression, shaked their head. "It's settled then. Now, Corey, you said you found a place?" "Yeah, and old restaurant, just a little ways from here." "Alright, I'll bring a group of folks to help clear it out. Rob, Faith and Randy, you come with me, help me clear the inside. Corey and Carlo, you guys stay on guard outside, make sure no one sneak up on us while we search. Miles and Michelle, you keep an eye on the boy," Floyd went over to Miles, and lowered his voice. "And you know what to do if he turns before we expect it. Ok?" Miles nodded. "Alright, Wes and Dorian, mind checking the perimeter with Barry?" "Yeah, no problem." Dorian and Wes loaded their weapons, and walked off. "Okay, let's move." Floyd said, waving his group with him. ---- The six approached the restaurant. It had a slightly rustic feel to it, with the name "Wayne's". Floyd tried opening the door, though it was locked. "You want the honors?" Floyd asked Rob. Rob got into position, and landed a heavy kick on the door, opening it. "Alright, you two remember your job?" Floyd asked Corey and Carlo. "Yeah." "Alright, let's go folks." Floyd pulled out his M9, and got into aiming position, and walked slowly inside. Rob and Randy got out their guns aswell, and Faith a survivor knife. It was dark and quiet. Floyd turned on a pocket flashlight to see what was going on. They approached another door which lead into the restaurant itself, however this one was not locked. Floyd slowly opened it, only to see a zombie a little further up the hallway leading into the restaurant. "Let me handle this one." Faith said, stepping forward. The zombie growled and reached for Faith, but she kicked the zombie into the wall, making it fall over. She then struck her knife in the back of its head before it could get up. "Damn." Randy said, impressed. They moved on into the main room, where Floyd scanned the room with his flashlight. There were three zombies in the room itself. "Now it's our turn." Rob said as the three men went ahead. They all pulled out their melee weapons and took out their foes, without a problem. Faith smiled and rolled her eyes. "Aight, so its just the kitchen left?" Randy asked. "Yeah, I think so." The group moved to the kitchen, only to find a chef, still in his respectable clothes, with both his arms and legs maimed. "What the..." Randy expressed. Faith covered her open mouth with her hand in shock. "What happened to him?" "No idea." Floyd said, standing next to him. "Marco." "What?" "The nametag. It says "Marco"." "I'll put him out of his misery." Rob said, stepping forward. Marco laid there and snapped at Rob, who took out a knife and quickly stabbed his eye, killing him. There were some silence. "Should we bring the rest of the group?" Faith asked. "Yeah, Randy and I'll go get them. The rest of you make sure the place is secure." Floyd said, taking Randy with him. Faith looked over at Rob. "Still not used to it, huh?" "I am. It's just... he was so helpless... made me feel... sorry for him." "Don't beat yourself up over it. You did the right thing. We don't know what happened to him, but... the point is, you made it better for him, despite how weird that sounds." Faith said, sympatically. "It's just... Shaun, and Ahmed too... they died back there. They were good people. They didn't deserve that. Shaun, well... before you guys came, he... did some bad stuff. Made many people dislike the guy. But he had good intentions. And he was a good guy. For some reason this zombie reminded me of him... I have no idea why. Guess it's just death affecting me." "...Wanna take him outside? Don't want it laying around in here." Faith said, to change the subject. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry." Rob came to his right mind again, and helped lift the maimed body outside. ---- They heard a car park outside the restaurant. "They're here." Rob said, standing up from the chair he was sitting on. Barry came in first, followed by the rest of the group. "You made sure it's safe?" he asked. "Yeah, all rooms are cleared." Rob answered. Barry nodded, and went to sort out some supplies on a table. Michelle came in with Jake. "How's he doing?" "Not good. I... I think this might be it." Michelle said, saddened. "At least let's do this somewhere else." Michelle agreed. Rob walked over to Floyd, who was standing leaned up against a wall. "You sure you can do this Rob? I mean if-" Floyd started. "Yeah. I'm sure." "Alright. Remember, this is not on you, buddy. Okay? This has to be done. You're doing the right thing here." Floyd said, putting his hand on Rob's shoulder. "Thanks, Floyd. I know." Floyd nodded, and Rob went back to Michelle and Jake. "Let's go." ---- Rob held Jake in his arms, who was barely concious. Michelle walked next to him. They were going out in the woods, to keep the attention away from the restaurant. They eventually reached a place far enough in the woods. Rob put Jake down on a boulder, where he sat, pale as snow, looking exhausted and weak. Rob sat down in front of him. "Jake. If you can hear me, don't be afraid. What you're going through right now, it hurts. It's painful, and God knows I wouldn't want this to happen to you. But it happened, and we have to do what needs to be done to keep you from hurting. You have been tough, and you are super strong, stronger than anyone. And now you can finally be with mom again. We'll all miss you Jake." Michelle got teary eyed. Rob too, as stepped back and raised his Glock and aimed it at Jake's head. Rob closed his eyes, exhaled, and fired. Michelle couldn't hold it in. She burst out in tears. Rob hugged her. "I'm sorry, Michelle. But he won't suffer now. He- he won't suffer." he said, still hugging her. ---- Rob and Michelle walked back, with Rob carrying Jake's dead body. He put it by the wall of the restaurant. He went inside. "We're... gonna need a shovel." Corey handed him a shovel they brung from the store, in which he took outside. Rob went back, and found a spot where he started digging. It took a little over an hour. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his wrist, and looked up at Jake's body who was still leaning up against the wall. He sighed, and made his way up, and brung the body with him. He put it gently on the bottom of the grave, and took a moment of silence. He then started shoving back the dirt to fill the hole. Michelle came out from the building, and saw Rob, who was standing looking at the grave. She approached him and held around him from behind. "It's going to be ok, Rob. He's in a better place now." she said, trying to comfort him. "Yeah... I know." he turned around and held around Michelle as well. "I just... wanted to thank you. For everything." he said, and smiled faintly. She smiled back, as they looked each other in the eyes, and kissed. "It's getting dark. We should go back inside." Michelle said. "Yeah." ---- They made their way back to the restaurant, where most people had already settled in. Rob instantly noticed arguing going on in the kitchen. He went to check it out. He saw Randy, sitting on the floor, leaning against a fridge, drinking whiskey, and Dorian arguing with him. "What the fuck's the point? This damn world has gone to shit. Livin' only makes it worse. You survive, you kill, then someone close dies and you get broken. My son, hell, my ex-wife, wherever the fuck she is. But my little Kevin... he fuckin' died because of those fuckers. And now we're here, holed up in some fuckin' restaurant, waitin' for it to get attacked again, just to escape once again. SO EXCUSE ME FOR TRYIN' TO GET MY THOUGHTS ON SOMETHIN' ELSE!" Randy said, enraged. "If you're gonna give up already, then you're weak. If you really wanted to show your son how much you loved him, then maybe you should start showing a little more effort in trying." Dorian responded, bitterly. Randy dropped the bottle of whisky, and got up, and gave Dorian a menacing look of hatred. "You... don't fuckin' talk to me like that!" Randy said, throwing a punch at Dorian's face. Dorian held his face, and threw a punch back, in Randy's stomach. Randy held his stomach in agony, feeling the pain from where he was shot two months ago. Dorian then kicked his groin, making Randy fall. "Hey, hey, hey! Stop!" Rob intervened, as he pushed Dorian up against a wall. "What you gonna do, Robbie? Punch me too? Forget it." Dorian said, pushing Rob away. "Are you gonna be a fucking problem?" Rob asked Dorian. "Only if you want me to." he said, walking away. Rob went to Randy's aid. "Shit, man, you alright?" "I'm... fuckin' fine," he said, still angry. "I know you wanna help Rob, but... can I just... have some time alone?" "Sure thing," Rob said. "But I'm taking this. It's only gonna make it worse." Rob grabbed the bottle of whiskey. "Fine..." Randy grumbled. Rob walked out of the kitchen, meeting Wes. "Hey, uh... wanna apologize for Dorian's... behavior. He's not great around new people. But he IS a good guy, despite how unbelieveable that might seem." Wes said to Rob. "He did say some nasty things back there. It can really affect a broken person." Rob responded. "True that. Not supporting whatever he said, just... he's a cool guy once you get to know him. Just give him time." "I'll try." Wes patted Rob's shoulder and walked off. He noticed Miles and Carlo sitting by a table talking. "Hey, guys." Rob said, sitting down on a chair next to them. "Hi, Rob. We're kinda... uh... talking about a personal topic..." Miles said. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to-" "It's fine. We're talking about family." "Well you guys already know my story. But, where is your family, Robert? If you don't mind me asking." Carlo asked. "Well... It happened a few months ago. Corey and I went to my house to check if my wife and daughter were okay. We later found them..." Rob stopped for a second. "It's okay. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Carlo said. "I had to kill my own daughter. Corey took care of my wife for me. It's just... I can't stop thinking about how I should have been there for them..." "You did all you could, Rob. Don't blame yourself for it." Miles said. "I try not to." "Well, I didn't really have a kid or a wife. Had a girlfriend for a couple years, but we broke up. Though, I checked if my parents were okay. It wasn't pretty." "I'm awfully sorry. But, we all have each other now, and that's all that matters." Carlo said, and smiled. Faith came running in. "Have anyone seen Barry?" she burst out. People started looking around, before realizing he was gone. "Yeah... he said he was gonna go look for food." Corey said. "We gotta find him, he's been out for hours! What if he's dead?!" Floyd walked over to Faith. "Alright. We'll send a team to go look for him. But I can't promise anything." "What do you mean?" Faith asked. "I'm saying if we don't find him, he's dead." Credits *Robert Erickson *Corey Peterson *Floyd Gibson *Miles *Randy *Michelle *Jake *Barry Palmer *Faith Williams *Wesley Jones *Dorian Hughes *Carlo Ramirez *Marco (Zombified) *Andy (Mentioned) *Kevin (Mentioned) Deaths *Marco (Zombified) *Jake *Andy (Confirmed Fate) *Kevin (Confirmed Fate) Trivia *First and last appearance of Marco. *Last appearance of Jake. *First mention of Andy. *First mention of Kevin. 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